Creator campaigns

A creator campaign pays creators for posts whose views Zernio fetched from the platform itself.

You set the rate and the budget. Creators join, connect their accounts read-only and submit posts. You approve what counts, then pay.

Creator campaigns run on usage-based billing.

Before you start

• Your workspace is on usage-based billing. Other workspaces get 403 feature_not_available.
• You have the id of the profile the campaign belongs to.
• Paying through Zernio needs the owner or a billing admin. An API key needs full access.

Step 1: Create the campaign

Create the campaign with its economics and budget. Amounts are USD cents.

curl -X POST https://zernio.com/api/v1/creator-campaigns \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZERNIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "profileId": "PROFILE_ID",
    "name": "Launch clips",
    "brandName": "Acme",
    "platforms": ["tiktok", "instagram"],
    "settlement": "treasury",
    "economics": { "type": "cpm", "ratePer1kCents": 100, "minViewsToEarn": 1000, "budgetCents": 100000 }
  }'

settlement: "treasury" pays creators through Zernio. Use external to pay from your own rails, or none to only record payouts.

The campaign starts as a draft. Activate it with POST /v1/creator-campaigns/{campaignId}/activate.

Step 2: Invite creators

Invite one creator by name. The answer carries their personal link.

curl -X POST https://zernio.com/api/v1/creator-campaigns/CAMPAIGN_ID/participants \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZERNIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "displayName": "Cleo", "email": "cleo@example.com" }'

To let anyone join, create an open link with POST /v1/creator-campaigns/{campaignId}/invite-link. Each creator who joins from it gets their own link.

On the link, the creator connects accounts read-only and submits post URLs. campaign_participant.joined fires when they join.

Step 3: Review submissions

Zernio tracks each post for the tracking window, scores its authenticity and flags anything odd. It never rejects on its own.

List what is waiting for you:

curl "https://zernio.com/api/v1/creator-campaigns/CAMPAIGN_ID/submissions?status=pending_review" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZERNIO_API_KEY"

Approve with POST .../submissions/{submissionId}/approve. Reject with POST .../submissions/{submissionId}/reject and a reason; the creator sees it.

Approved earnings are owed for the campaign's hold, 10 days by default. Then they become payable and campaign_payout.payable fires.

Step 4: Pay creators by card

Pay every payable creator, or some of them, with a single card payment. You pay what they are owed plus the fee: 4%, at least $0.50 per creator.

curl -X POST https://zernio.com/api/v1/creator-campaigns/CAMPAIGN_ID/payout-batches \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZERNIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "participantIds": ["PARTICIPANT_ID"] }'

Omit participantIds to pay everyone payable, or send excludeParticipantIds to leave some out. The answer carries a checkout url. Once the card is charged, Zernio pays each creator at once. campaign_payout.settled fires per creator.

Read the batch with GET /v1/payout-batches/{batchId}. A creator who has not finished payout setup is skipped and stays payable.

If you will not pay, cancel with POST /v1/payout-batches/{batchId}/cancel. The creators become payable again at once instead of after the 24-hour Checkout expiry.

Step 5: Or pay from your balance

Fund a Zernio balance with POST /v1/balance/top-ups. Card top-ups are held for 7 days.

Then pay one creator from it:

curl -X POST https://zernio.com/api/v1/creator-campaigns/CAMPAIGN_ID/participants/PARTICIPANT_ID/settle \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZERNIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: payout-cleo-2026-10" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}'

Omit amountCents to pay the whole payable balance. Send an Idempotency-Key so a retry never pays twice.

How it behaves

• Only views Zernio fetched from the platform count. Nothing self-reported earns.
• A post submitted twice, or to two of your campaigns, is flagged duplicate_post for your review.
• Creators never get a Zernio account. Their profiles stay out of your profile list and do not count against your plan.
• Card payouts are limited to $2,000 per rolling 30 days to start. Over the limit, pay from your balance or ask support to raise it.

If it fails

Related

• Creator payouts pricing
• Creator campaign webhooks
• Idempotency